This year we want to explore how the best organisations are learning to learn and how we can learn Lean more effectively. We will share great stories from people at the front line applying Lean thinking and practice in their organisations. As always, we’ve tried to provide a mix of applications and environments. The manufacturer Delphi were an early example in implementing Lean. Peter Watkins will explain how they are unlearning and re-learning Lean across the organisation as they re-invigorate their efforts. Marc McNeill and Tim Marriott from AutoTrader will explain how the organisation has transformed itself from printing and distributing a weekly magazine to becoming the UK’s largest digital automotive marketplace and what they have been learning from using Lean. I’m delighted that Sharon Visser will join us from Ngami Toyota in Botswana. Sharon’s story is set in one of the most extreme places in the World. Despite such challenges the team has developed some of the best examples of kaizen that I have ever seen. Finally Pierre Masai will share Toyota’s eHoshin – the story of their open collaborative Hoshin platform experiment which I am sure will get a lot of senior executives thinking about the way in which they develop strategy, deploy and learn from their activities.

In addition to the plenary presentations, participants will also be able to choose 4 from 12 two-hour learning sessions. These provide a mix between expanding on the plenary talks to providing some of the best examples of practice. Following the positive feedback last year Toyota will again share how they develop and sustain improvement through standardised work. From the public sector, Adrian Ruth will share the Lean story at the BBC. We also have two stories to tell from Barcelona – firstly from the accident and emergency department of Barcelona’s largest hospital and secondly from the 365 Café in terms of how they have applied Lean thinking to their chain of 70 retail outlets in the city providing fresh bakery products. Steve Warren will share how Akzo Nobel (the business behind brands such as Dulux) are using Michael Balle’s book “Lead with Respect” to deepen their Lean journey and the Lean Management Institute’s Wiebe Nijdam will share a practical approach to (hoshin) strategy deployment. We also have a learning session where Milliken’s Ian Gabrieldes and Zehnder’s Ian Bergmman will share their Lean learnings.

If you haven’t already booked places are filling fast. We already have 120 people in the room. To ensure hotel accommodation at the event please book soon. Each year customers tell us that our Summit is the not to be missed Lean event of the year for any leader, senior manager or Lean practitioner wanting to transform and or sustain the gains from their Lean efforts. You can find out more about the programme and reserve your place at www.leanuk.org/leasummit2016. We look forward to seeing you in November.

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UK Lean Summit 2018

UK Lean Summit 2018 takes place at the MacDonald Hotel, Manchester
on 18th & 19th April. There are pre-Summit Masterclasses 17th April and a visit to Toyota's engine plant with Jim Womack and Dan Jones on 20th April. Book at: http://www.eiseverywhere.com/leansummit2018